Econet LAN party – TNMoC 20th and 21st May 2023

[1024MAK]

i wonder if the National Grid has been made aware of tomorrow lol

I understand they have a suitable extra generator on standby…



(photo linked to is from this website)

Mark

[IanS]

Will there be plenty of multiway extension cables?

For these sort of things, I always take enough to power the bits I'm taking, plus a spare.

[Lum]

Only just seen this thread, but writing this from a random Airbnb in Bletchley, no idea how any of this is going to go, but hyped for tomorrow!

Bringing my M128 (w/ copro), added an Econet card and got someone from the FB group who has been kind enough to offer me an ANFS rom, however I'm a derp and forgot my tools in the rush to leave.

No idea what to expect. I have never used econet, but looking forward to meeting peeps.

[Ukwebb]

Don't worry @lum we'll have tools and ROMs a plenty

[BeebMaster]

I've organised with Chris to be network number 77 at the weekend, or even now if anybody wants to have a go in advance. Chris will networks 124 & 125.

This is going to be a big test for my newest file server, my much maligned and abused A3010! It's station 31 on my Econet, so it will be accessible as station 77.31.

I've put a few bits on the server, my "Machines!" util shown in the picture I posted earlier which will run (from 8 bit stations only) with *I AM MACHINES

Also my Econet screen viewer, which captures and displays another station's screen repeatedly at user-selectable intervals. I use this a lot on my own Station 201 to capture any 8-bit screen without having to move. It's accessible using (again, for 8-bit stations only) *I AM VIEWER

I've put JGH's Talk utility on the A3010 as well, which will work from 8-bit and RISC OS stations with *I AM TALK or logging on as TALK from the RISC OS Desktop Net icon. It's a lot of fun:

[Lum]

Don't worry @lum we'll have tools and ROMs a plenty

I'm in no doubt that there will be plenty of people far more skilled than I if I need help.

Also hoping for a decent networked game of something. Tempted to try and stream it, but only if there's a way to do that that isn't going to annoy the hell out of everyone

[Ragster]

I'm in no doubt that there will be plenty of people far more skilled than I if I need help.

I'm sort of relying on that too - never set up any Econet kit before (briefly used some back in the day) - so I think I've installed the M128 (w/ Pi co-pro and GoTek) correctly, but I haven't managed to set a station number. Hoping someone can provide the utility which I've not been able to sort.

Also hoping for a decent networked game of something. Tempted to try and stream it, but only if there's a way to do that that isn't going to annoy the hell out of everyone

Networked game - and streamed??! What sort of time warp is this??

I'll be on my way shortly... (I live quite close.)

[markusher]

I'm sort of relying on that too - never set up any Econet kit before (briefly used some back in the day) - so I think I've installed the M128 (w/ Pi co-pro and GoTek) correctly, but I haven't managed to set a station number. Hoping someone can provide the utility which I've not been able to sort.

This should set the station number for you
*SET <station number>

Set.zip

(668 Bytes) Downloaded 10 times

[markusher]

I've organised with Chris to be network number 77 at the weekend, or even now if anybody wants to have a go in advance. Chris will networks 124 & 125.

This is going to be a big test for my newest file server, my much maligned and abused A3010! It's station 31 on my Econet, so it will be accessible as station 77.31.

Great one Ian! I'll use 78 then. What are you doing for connectivity to TNMOC? Will it be at Chris's end? IP address? Using Trunking?

-Mark

[Lum]

I'm sort of relying on that too - never set up any Econet kit before (briefly used some back in the day) - so I think I've installed the M128 (w/ Pi co-pro and GoTek) correctly, but I haven't managed to set a station number. Hoping someone can provide the utility which I've not been able to sort.

I never even used it. My school were very late onto the computing thing and I had to show them how to even boot of a floppy disc.

Two computers on trolleys for the entire school.

Networked game - and streamed??! What sort of time warp is this??

I'll be on my way shortly... (I live quite close.)

Well if nothing else I'll get to capture some footage

Almost there, just having a maccas over the road first

[BeebMaster]

I've organised with Chris to be network number 77 at the weekend, or even now if anybody wants to have a go in advance. Chris will networks 124 & 125.

This is going to be a big test for my newest file server, my much maligned and abused A3010! It's station 31 on my Econet, so it will be accessible as station 77.31.

Great one Ian! I'll use 78 then. What are you doing for connectivity to TNMOC? Will it be at Chris's end? IP address? Using Trunking?

NetworkOverview.png
-Mark

Yes, trunking I believe. Not sure if I need to open any other ports to allow anyone else in, but I don't think I do.

Pi Bridge 77.254 is on, as is Acorn A3010 file server station 77.31 which for the first time started today without a POST flash, so that's a very good omen for this weekend.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like machine peek operations are working across the bridges, so I can only see my local stations, which is a bit of a shame as I was hoping to have pages and pages of stations listed!

If I can get "is net" and "what net" calls working then I can abbreviate this routine to skip nets that don't exist!

[BeebMaster]

I'm sort of relying on that too - never set up any Econet kit before (briefly used some back in the day) - so I think I've installed the M128 (w/ Pi co-pro and GoTek) correctly, but I haven't managed to set a station number. Hoping someone can provide the utility which I've not been able to sort.

If you can log in to 77.31 as GUEST (*I AM 77.31 GUEST) then the *SET utility is in Library1.

You may also need to do *OPT5,1 on your Master to set "FindLib" which then changes the library to the Master compatible library at log-on.

[markusher]

Morning BeebMaster

What does the the Trunk config in your econet.cfg file look like?

#T .....

That way I should be able to connect with Chris and his will advertise the route to 77 to me (and vice versa).

I'm on discord also all day for group and direct chat.

-Mark

[BeebMaster]

Probably best to ask Chris, I think he needs to do something at his end as well.

[markusher]

OK. Will do when he logs on or someone nudges him at TNMOC.

Waiting for John B also.

I'll send you a direct message with some details.

[BeebMaster]

Ooooooooooooooooo!

[BeebMaster]

Ooo I am popular!

[brianmartin_2001]

Have to say I am decidedly jealous I can't take part in thisas I don't have Econet.
It sounds great fun though ... Hope it goes really well tomorrow and was a fun affair today.
I am hoping the Wifi sheep channel does a bit of a youtube vid' on it ..Tom has been
preparing his Master so he can participate. I will be vicariously attending through his
coverage.

[Issue7]

What a brilliant day!
I'm knackered but look forward to doing it again tomorrow.
Tom

[Ragster]

Thanks for all your efforts Tom - it was a really good day, lots of great kit, first time getting a machine on an econet for me, and lots of nice, helpful and knowledgeable people.
Great to see some classic and some obscure machines being exercised.

Was also good to get that digitiser up and running- with a suitable camera you can have some fun with that.

Hope it all goes as well tomorrow - and let's see about September!

[BeebMaster]

I had great fun today and I was about 200 miles away!

Won't be around much tomorrow, so hope it all goes well!

[BigEd]

Hoping to see some photos of the event!

[Ukwebb]

Hoping to see some photos of the event!

I've put a couple on FB...
https://m.facebook.com/groups/AcornAndB ... 752661456/

[Ukwebb]

Thanks for all your efforts Tom - it was a really good day,

Yes in deed a brilliant day, just wish I could have stayed over. Tbh I could probably do that for a.month or more lol

But great to play with that WE digitiser, (glad I took my laptop etc) , helped another chap with a quick recap of his PSU, breaking the Communicator into bits and seering some of Acorns odd design decisions and learned a lot especially about Econet from everyone who was there.

And Tom, don't touch that damn wire again!!! Lol

And let's make September a thing

As Jim Morrison said in Wayne's World....
"If you believe in it, it will happen"

[BigEd]

I've put a couple on FB...

Hurrah - but no good for me, unfortunately. Hoping you (or someone) can post some here.

200 miles is a good distance for an Econet... did anyone connect from even further? I suspect this weekend might have set a few new records for distance, number of people, number of machines, amount of accessible storage.

[Ukwebb]

I've put a couple on FB...

Hurrah - but no good for me, unfortunately. Hoping you (or someone) can post some here.

[markusher]

200 miles is a good distance for an Econet... did anyone connect from even further? I suspect this weekend might have set a few new records for distance, number of people, number of machines, amount of accessible storage.

Yes. Near the end of the day, Chris and I established the trunk to Switzerland which worked. I was able to see and logon to the TNMOC file store and vice versa.

The trunk also established connectivity to Beebmaster’s lair.
Just need someone to re-establish the link at TNMOC today.

[philpem]

I'm back at home today - thanks all for a fantastic day yesterday.

If anyone with knowledge of the internet-bridging setup (and set up on the Tailscale) has a spare moment, it'd be great to get my home network bridged in today so I can join you all in packets if not physically.

I think all I need are the relevant config file lines for the Econet bridge (hpbridge)?

[cr12925]

I'm back at home today - thanks all for a fantastic day yesterday.

If anyone with knowledge of the internet-bridging setup (and set up on the Tailscale) has a spare moment, it'd be great to get my home network bridged in today so I can join you all in packets if not physically.

I think all I need are the relevant config file lines for the Econet bridge (hpbridge)?

Once you have a bridge configured on net 4 at TMNOC (the room next to the carpark), it needs a clean (ie ports open both ways - so a vpn is ideal so tmnoc doesn’t have to alter their firewall) connection to a bridge out on the net with the relevant ports open, then you just need a series of trunk lines in the HPB config for each site, and some XLATE lines if there are net numbers which overlap… the trunklines will be very similar to the ones which big master and Mark already had for yesterday, put on the central trunk bridge. There will be more than one of them. If I get time before everything else I have to do today, I will try and paste the config that was used in Amazon for yesterday.

It’s the connectivity out of the museum, which is challenging. Not because of anything, the museum does, but rather the exercise of getting connectivity without trouble in the museum to change something just for this event.

C

[markusher]

If Phil can be added to the central bridge, we can at least have BeebMaster, myself and Phil networked together.
I'm mapped to network 78?

If a mapping is in place for the TNMOC, all we need are the details so that if someone can VPN through a mobile connection from their bridge connected to network 4, it is ready to go.